The present invention relates to a method of reproducing indicia, that is image or text or characters on a film that is at least partially metallized and/or is holographic. It more particularly refers to a method of selectively removing portions of the metalized and/or holographic film in a predetermined pattern corresponding to the indicia sought to be printed.
There is a need to provide indicia (image or text) printed in a metallized and/or 2D or 3D holographic pattern on heat transferable films. In particular there is a need to provide such indicia with high definition and low costs.
The printed indicia must have sharp edges and be as small as 1 mm. It is preferred that the printed indicia be protected from being damaged, changed or otherwise adversely affected by subsequent manufacturing steps, such as overprinting at least some of the indicia with polymeric colors and depositing the indicia on an heat transferable layer. It is also preferred that the indicia be easily transferable to a carrier to form a final product. The transfer can be accomplished by the well known hot transferring method.
Currently, there is no existing method that could adequately meet the above stated requirements.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of reproducing high-definition indicia, such as image or text or characters, on a 2D or 3D holographic and/or metallized film.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of reproducing indicia on a 2D or 3D holographic and/or metallized film where the reproduced image or text has a size greater than or equal to about 1 mm.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of reproducing indicia on a 2D or 3D holographic film that is specifically designed to provide protection of the indicia during subsequent manufacturing processes.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method of reproducing indicia on a 2D or 3D holographic and/or metallized film that allows the reproduced material to be easily transferred to various types of pre-formed plastic carriers.
Other and additional objects will become apparent from a consideration of this entire specification as well as the claims appended hereto.
The above-mentioned objects are achieved by a method of reproducing indicia, such as images or text, on a metallized and/or holographic film, that comprises the steps of:
(a) printing a co-polymeric primer, in a predetermined pattern corresponding to a positive of indicia sought to be applied to the metallized and/or holographic film, on a preformed metallized and/or holographic film, wherein the primer is resistant to etching,
(b) bringing an activated etching substance into effective contact with the unprimed portions of the surface of the holographic film and/or the metal layer, and possibly also into contact with the relatively inert primer coating as well,
(c) subjecting the primer coated holographic and/or metallized film to etching conditions, whereby causing portions of the holographic and/or metallized film not covered by the primer to be etched away, and thereby forming a crystallized debris material disposed on a substrate that was, before etching, disposed under said metallized or a portion of the holographic film that is below that portion of the holographic film that was etched away,
(d) removing the so formed crystallized debris material, and
(e) drying the resultant multilayer etched film.
In a preferred subsequent step, the etched, washed and dried multilayer film has a further polymeric layer disposed over both the surface remaining after the etching has been accomplished and the unetched primer surface. The top polymeric layer provides additional protection of the etched surface against later damage or distortion that may be caused by subsequent processing or use. The top polymeric layer may also provide a decorative effect by applying color to all or part of the surfaces of the multilayer film. The color is preferably, but not necessarily exclusively, applied to the portion of the top polymer layer that only covers the unetched primer. Different color polymer top layers can be provided as desired. It is within the scope of this invention to apply the polymer top coating as a plurality of layers of different, of the same, or different, colors disposed in predetermined patterns(s).
For ease of understanding and description, the layer of the metallized and/or holographic film that will be later subjected to etching according to the practice of this invention will hereinafter be referred to as the etch layer.
In accordance with the present invention, the metal layer may be laminated to a holographic film, and the combination laminated to a supporting substrate film. Alternatively, the holographic film, without a superposed metallic layer, may be laminated to a supporting under-film. Further alternatively, the metal may be deposited on the holographic substrate in any of the many conventional processes that are known for this purpose. These laminations may be accomplished by the action of heat, pressure or through an adhesive that had been previously coated on the substrate or on the surface of the metal or holographic film that will be juxtaposed to the substrate. Lamination should be prior to the printing step.
The removal of the crystallized debris material is preferably performed in a plurality of stages using demineralized water. Each washing is followed by draining the wash water and accompanying debris for as many times as it takes to remove substantially all of the debris.
The drying step is preferably conducted in a hot bed air system. After the crystallized material has been removed, the film is preferably printed using polymeric colors in such a manner as to form together with the indicia, previously obtained by means of the etching procedure, a complex image or text or the like.